Value Chain Group Executive Leadership

 Executive Director

Scott Palmer is the Executive Director at the independent trade consortium, Value-Chain Group, Inc. He has been involved with the VCG since it was officially launched in April 2005. Scott works with the VCG Board of Directors to set strategic direction and he executes the business plan around this strategy.
 
The VCG developed the Business Process Transformation Framework designed to help companies transform their business processes into a data-driven framework. The Value Reference Model, a standard process reference guide is used as the starting point to help internal teams rationalize their processes into the extended framework. Through Path Finder, the VCG provides it members with a proven Integrated Continuous Improvement Methodology to demonstrate how the VRM can be used to build high fidelity business process architecture.  

Using the VCG Framework and the ICIM, Scott has worked with his team on successful proof of concept value stream projects in Product Redesign, New Product Introduction, Branding, Supply Chain/Order Fulfillment, Procurement to Pay, Product Demand and others.
 
From 1998 to 2005, Scott was the Associate Executive Director of the Supply Chain Council and managed the day-to-day operations of this global not-for-profit organization. Scott was the point of contact for all major SCC-related events, he oversaw financial reporting, assisted with membership development, and staffed many committees, including the PLAN Technical Committee, the Product Development for Supply Chain Research Project, the European, North American and Latin American Chapter Leadership Teams, and the Supply Chain World Planning Teams.

E-mail: scott.palmer@value-chain.org
Direct Phone: +1 412 487 2922

 Chief Model Architect

Tom Mercer is VCG's Chief Model Architect. Tom's company, Value Chain Associates, is a Founding Member of the Value Chain Group.

 Tom formed this LLC in 2001 to offer consulting, implementation, training, and software solutions for companies seeking to optimize supply chain management (SCM) processes.  VCA principals recognized the existence of obvious disconnects in high-level business processes between product development and the supply chain. Developed and strengthened market position around a holistic Value Chain approach. In order to capitalize on this opportunity, VCA created a Value Reference Model (VRM) and a supporting semantic framework.  In turn, this IP was donated to the not-for-profit Value Chain Group, in order to drive market adoption.
 
Recent work has focused on the development of process reference frameworks and integrated methodologies for continuous improvement of business processes. Working closely with leading domain experts in the field of product lifecycle management, Tom has been designing a comprehensive approach streamlining how businesses define and create value for their customers. He has 15 years of experience in supply chain management and inventory systems integration in the durable goods manufacturing sector. 

Tom holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology & Education from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. 

Email: tom.mercer@value-chain.org
Direct Phone: +1 812 637 9097 
 
 Technical Director

Gary Shell is VCG Technical Director and he is co-creator of the ICIM Architect application used by VCG to house and maintain our models. As Technical Director, he oversees strategic technological direction, technical staff, and product development.

Mr. Shell brings over 30 years of systems design and development expertise to VCG. Prior to joining the organization, he served as president and CTO of The Conch Associates, Inc., a database design and development consulting group based in Cincinnati, Ohio. His experience includes the product design and development of a database management system that ran on multiple IBM computing platforms, ranging from microcomputers to mainframes.
 
An authority in data aggregation and distribution systems, Mr. Shell has also previously owned and operated his own database consulting group.
 

E-mail: gary.shell@value-chain.org
Direct Phone: +1 513 871 6690

 
 Research Architect 
 
George Brown is Research Architect of the Value Chain Group. George joined Intel in 1994 and worked as a Senior Program Manager within the IT Research department.  He worked with the senior management of Intel business units and application groups to define business strategy, architecture of business applications, and strategies for applying information technology to improve Intel competitiveness.  In addition, he represented Intel in external research and benchmarking activities, and identified opportunities to apply information technology in innovative ways to solve business problems and improve Intel business processes.  Special focus was given to methods and tools to ensure Intel reaches its goals in Supply Chain Management.
 
George is the former Chairman of the Value Chain Group Board of Directors. He was also Chair of the Supply Chain Council's Board and served as the Chair of the Supply Chain Council Research Strategies Committee (RSC). Before joining Intel, he worked as a Senior Staff Specialist and Software Architect at GDE Systems, Inc., a Senior Program Manager at SAIC, and a Principal Software Engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation. 

E-mail: george.brown@value-chain.org
Direct Phone: +1 480 892 5675